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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. board — a committee
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. spell — magic
  5. tear — to rip
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. tear — from crying
  11. board — to get on
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. spell — a short time
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. spell — letters
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. game — a kind of play

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com